Barnsley FC are free of egos in pursuit of promotion to the Championship, insists Nicky Cadden

The Reds head coach expects a certain code of conduct from the individual and not just the player. Sloppiness, untidiness and lack of punctuality are among the things which are frowned upon.

It's what you’d expect from the son of a distinguished military man.

His father John was in the Royal Air Force for 50 years and earned an MBE for service to the forces.

What Duff likes alongside hard work, respect and enthusiasm for your craft is humility and what he loathes more than anything are those with egos.

They won't last long at Barnsley and any behaviour that he doesn't like usually yields a forfeit.

There's a 'spins board' at Oakwell to determine the punishment for any misdemeanours in a dressing room which has become more self-policing under Duff.

Wing-back Nicky Cadden, pictured, said: "The gaffer said ‘leave your ego at the door’ when he came in and then there's the spins and stuff and making a fool of yourself in front of the boys.

"That's part and parcel of it and he has done brilliant on the training pitch with us and is coaching us really well.

"We had a wee sticky patch (in early January), but I knew we'd turn it around with the boys in there and coaching staff.

"There's a good team spirit and everyone is really tight off and on the pitch and that shows.

"Obviously, we are all about the same age, apart from Nors (James Norwood), who is ancient! He will shout at me now.”

A team in the truest sense of the word, Barnsley's renaissance under Duff has been a delight to witness after last season's sorry relegation campaign.

That collectivism has seen 11 different players score in the club's past nine games, when they have totalled 22 goals in an superb unbeaten sequence.

Heading into Saturday's home game with second-placed Plymouth Argyle, Duff's side, up to fourth, are in outstanding form with seven wins in that return.

There will be a sense of expectancy and the right sort of confidence ahead of the fixture, with Barnsley having travelled far in every sense since losing 1-0 on the first day of the season at Home Park.

The Reds should certainly represent a totally different proposition than in the return game. But there won’t be any hubris either.

Perish the thought under Duff.

Cadden (pictured), who scored a beauty in the midweek win over Portsmouth – to get the goalscoring 'monkey off his back' at Oakwell, added: "We will just recover and come in for our normal debrief.

"We will not treat Plymouth differently to anybody else and will still do what we normally do in training and just try and win the next half of football.

"I've had the 'game by game' stuff from managers. But 45 minutes at a time is a new one for me with the gaffer, but I quite like it and think it works for us and spurs us on. It breaks it down even shorter. It is a good mentality to have really.”